Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much public money has been designated for housing market renewal in the Midlands and the north of England in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and, in total, for the next fifteen years; and how much, as a percentage and in real terms, will be used for demolition, for renovation or for renewal in the Pathfinder areas.

Baroness Andrews: The thinking behind the housing market renewal Pathfinder programme has been set out in the following documents:
	Memorandum from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to the Transport, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee, 2002 www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmtlgr/240/240m14.htm.
	The Government's Response to the Transport, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee's Sixth Report on Empty Homes, Cm 5514, The Stationery Office, 2002, ISBN 0–10–155142–8 www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm–housing/documents/downloadable/odpm–house–028906.pdf.
	Sustainable communities: building for the future, pages 24–29, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003 www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm–communities/documents/page/odpm–comm–022184–05.hcsp#P359–39856.
	Sustainable Communities: Homes for All, pages 48–52, Cm 6424, The Stationery Office, 2005, ISBN 0–10–164242–3 www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm–about/documents/page/odpm–about–034295–24.hcsp#P913–111785.
	ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee, Empty Homes and Low Demand Pathfinders, Written Evidence, Ev1–Ev7, HC 295–II, The Stationery Office, 2005, ISBN 0215 02195 9www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmodpm/295/295we02.htm.
	Market renewal Pathfinders: invitation to submit a scheme update, ODPM, 2005www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm–communities/documents/downloadable/odpm–comm–035675.pdf.
	Additional information on market renewal Pathfinders is available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm–communities/documents/divisionhomepage/037871.hcsp.
	The Government will be responding to the ODPM Select Committee's eighth report on empty homes and low demand Pathfinders shortly.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the average package of financial compensation given to people whose homes have been compulsorily acquired as part of the Pathfinder programme; and what is the commensurate price of an average house available for acquisition in the north west of England.

Baroness Andrews: English Partnerships published its first quarterly report on the Register of surplus public sector land in March 2005. A copy of the report was placed in the library of the House. An updated report on the register is expected to be published in June 2005. Following publication the report will be available on English Partnership's website.

Baroness Andrews: Overall timescales for both projects will depend on the outcome of both projects' procurements and will reflect the successful suppliers' proposals. The FiReControl and Firelink project teams are working closely together as part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Resilience program to ensure that we achieve an integrated delivery. We expect to make an announcement on FiReControl shortly.

Bank of Scotland

Lord Rooker: A total of £115,000 (including lottery funding of £25,000) has been offered to date to Féile an Phobail in 2005 as set out below:
	
		
			 Department Funding body Amount Purpose 
			 DCAL Arts Council of NI £90,000 Annual support for organisation's programme—contribution to salaries and artistic costs (year-round) 
			  Arts Council of NI (National Lottery Fund) £25,000 Audience Development—the Oscailt Project to encourage people with disabilities to participate fully in festival events 
			 Total  £115,000  
		
	
	Arts Council funding supports the activities of Féile an Phobail throughout the year: it is not possible to detail the exact sum provided for the August Féile (also known as the West Belfast Festival).

Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland

Lord Rooker: A total of £254,024 (including National Lottery funding of £23,304) was provided during 2004 for Féile an Phobail as set out below:
	
		
			 Department Funding Body Amount Purpose 
			 DCAL Arts Council of NI £85,000 Annual support for organisation's programme—contribution to salaries and artistic costs (year-round) 
			  Arts Council of NI (National Lottery Fund) £23,304 Audience development—the Oscailt Project to encourage people with disabilities to participate fully in festival events 
			  NI Events Company £20,000 Capped shortfall funding provided by DCAL (year-round) 
			  Arts and Business £5,000 New Partners award to match business sponsorship of £15,000 
			  Foras na Gaeilge £3,000 Sponsorship of August Féile 
			 DSD Belfast Regeneration Office £102,720 Capped shortfall funding (year-round) 
			 DETI NI Tourist Board £15,000 Event Marketing Support Scheme—to support international marketing 
			 Total  £254,024  
		
	
	Much of the funding provided was to assist with the year-round programme and running costs of Féile an Phobail: it is not possible to provide a figure for the August Féile (also known as the West Belfast Festival) in isolation.
	As Foras na Gaeilge is funded 25 per cent by DCAL and 75 per cent by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the Republic of Ireland, only 25 per cent of its £12,000 grant has been recorded in the table above.
	No funding was provided for the annual Twelfth celebrations during 2004.

Lord Rooker: The Commissioner for Children and Young People for Northern Ireland is a non-departmental public body and the commissioner (Nigel Williams) has written to the noble Lord in the following terms:
	Letter from Mr Williams to Lord Maginnis
	I have been asked to provide you with information requested in the above Parliamentary Question.
	Two general concerns were raised with the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People regarding possible child prostitution involving children's homes in the Sperrin Lakeland and Foyle Trust. The Commissioner took steps to ensure that these concerns were raised with the Trust, the Health and Social Services Board and the PSNI.
	The Commissioner wrote to every Children's Home in Northern Ireland to identify that the Sexual Offences Act "Risk of Sexual Harm Order" was a new legal resource to tackle this problem and to offer help and support if there was a problem with child prostitution. The Commissioner has also proposed multi-agency training about the use of Risk of Sexual Harm Orders.
	In the Armagh and Dungannon area we were told about the possible prostitution of an individual young person who is being looked after by the local Trust. Although it was alleged that there was evidence of child prostitution that evidence was not passed to us, the Trust or the PSNI. To address the specific concerns raised about the individual, the Commissioner appointed an independent social worker to investigate the young person's care by the Trust. There has been no suggestion that the young person is currently being abused in this way and the report concluded that the care plans were both adequate and effective.
	The Commissioner has written to all the Area Child Protection Committees drawing their attention to the issue and suggesting multi-agency training to raise awareness and develop ways to tackle the problem. There has been a positive response to this which is currently being following up.
	The abuse of young people in care by those who target them for sexual exploitation is an issue the Commissioner takes very seriously. The Commissioner has raised the profile of this issue in the media and continues to work in partnership with the Trusts, the PSNI and other voluntary children's bodies to find ways to promote this serious issue.

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they raised at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 2 and 3 June (a) the forthcoming ruling of the European Court of Justice in relation to the Food Supplements Directive, and (b) the need for amendments to this Directive to prevent safe and popular products from being lost from the United Kingdom market.

Lord Adonis: Figures for school governor vacancies are not collected centrally in England. A report on school governance in England commissioned by the Department in 2003 indicated that the average vacancy rate at that time was around 12 per cent. The report did not distinguish between primary and secondary schools.
	The figures for Wales are as follows:
	
		
			  Primary Secondary 
			 January 2003 1,208 237 
			 January 2004 1,318 224 
		
	
	Figures for 2005 will be available in August.

Lord Bach: Tagging studies suggest that the Irish Salmon Drift Net Fishery takes less than 1 per cent of salmon returning to rivers in the north-east of England, but this proportion is greater for stocks in Wales and the west of England, possibly increasing to around 10 per cent for some rivers in the south and south-west.
	I refer the noble Lord to the Environment Agency's Fisheries Statistics 2003 in the Library of the House. A river-by-river breakdown of salmon catches in England and Wales 1993–2003 can be found in Table 11 (nets) and Table 13 (rods).
	The-river-by-river assessment of salmon stock status against conservation limits can be found in Table 19 on page 50 of the attached Annual Assessment of Salmon Stock & Fisheries report in England and Wales 2004 in the House of Lords Library. The aggregated catch statistics for England and Wales are given on page 25.
	For Northern Ireland, the wild salmon stock estimates for the past 10 years are:
	
		
			 Year  
			 1995 87,250 
			 1996 90,785 
			 1997 107,893 
			 1998 225,109 
			 1999 62,146 
			 2000 89,305 
			 2001 69,980 
			 2002 87,462 
			 2003 79,067 
			 2004 75,211 
		
	
	Source: ICES 2004
	In Northern Ireland (NI) the overall catch in the Foyle area has always been split 50:50 between NI salmon statistics for commercially caught salmon, and the Republic of Ireland (RoI) statistics. This is because the agency that compiles the statistics (The Loughs Agency), is a cross-Border body. Most commercial fishermen reside in RoI, and land the majority of the catch in RoI, whereas the majority of river catchments are in NI, but there are some in the RoI. The stock status figure is for all NI catchments and those in the RoI running into the Foyle and is recorded as NI stock status.
	For Scotland the wild salmon stock estimates for the past 10 years are
	
		Scottish Salmon and Sea Trout Catches 1994–2003 Rod and Line (Released) Wild -- Number
		
			 Year Spring Summer Total Spring Salmon Summer Salmon Total Salmon Salmon and Grilse 
			 1994 54 5,007 5,061 1,534 6,595 
			 1995 895 7,953 8,848 3,303 12,151 
			 1996 853 7,278 8,131 2,282 10,413 
			 1997 543 7,613 8,156 2,809 10,965 
			 1998 813 7,718 8,531 4,933 13,464 
			 1999 1,691 9,301 10,992 3,854 14,846 
			 2000 1,758 11,938 13,696 7,376 21,072 
			 2001 3,362 14,976 18,338 9,386 27,724 
			 2002 2,231 13,579 15,810 8,248 24,058 
			 2003 2,391 17,559 19,950 9,210 29,160 
		
	
	It is possible to provide figures for the number of salmon caught per annum, whether retained or released. However that figure will only be a representation of the actual stocks and is likely to fluctuate due to fishing practices and demand. The migratory aspect of the species renders it very difficult to come up with accurate figures for the stocks at any one time.

Lord Bach: A wide range of appliances, including televisions consume energy while they are switched on but not in use, either in standby mode or simply waiting to be used.
	While we do not have detailed information available about all appliances that have a standby function, the Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) has information relating to the' energy consumed in standby for those appliances that account for the large majority of energy consumed in UK households. The MTP broadly divides standby power consumption for appliances into the following categories:
	Consumer electronics (e.g. televisions, digital set-top boxes and video recording equipment)—approximately 420 Gwh per month;
	Home computing equipment (e.g. personal computers, printers and display screens)—approximately 25–40 GWh per month;
	Domestic cooking equipment (microwaves and electric ovens) approximately 70GWh per month; and
	Office Equipment (e.g. computing equipment, photocopiers and fax machines)—approximately 40–60 Gwh per month.
	There is also further energy consumption from white goods such as washing machines and dishwashers which are switched on awaiting use or after they have completed their wash cycles; consumer electronic equipment using external power supplies (e.g. domestic portable telephones) that continue to consume energy when plugged in but not in use; and domestic personal computer equipment where the stand-by facilities are not properly enabled. Taken together, these sources of consumption may bring the overall figure to around 760 GWh.

Lord Bach: The most recent estimate by the Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) is that taken together consumer electronics, home computing equipment, domestic cooking equipment and office equipment in the UK consumed approximately 580–600 GWh per month while in standby mode.
	We are also aware that there is further energy consumption from white goods such as washing machines and dishwashers which are switched on awaiting use or after they have completed their wash cycles; consumer electronic equipment using external power supplies (e.g. domestic portable telephones) that continue to consume energy when plugged in but not in use; and domestic personal computer equipment where the stand-by facilities are not properly enabled. Taken together, these sources of consumption may bring the overall figure to around 760 GWh per month.
	In order to try to tackle this problem the Market Transformation Programme (www.mtprog.com) has been encouraging manufacturers to reduce both the "on" and the stand-by power consumption of household appliances through the adoption of design improvements, voluntary codes of conduct, and best practice guidelines and targets. This approach has been fairly successful in respect of televisions: an EU-wide voluntary agreement will mean that the majority of new televisions sold in the UK now consume around 1 watt of power in stand-by mode rather than the 3–8 watts consumed by older models. This agreement is currently being extended to cover other consumer electronics.
	A similar agreement for external power supplies aims to encourage new power supplies consuming around half a watt in stand-by mode compared to the present average of just over 2 watts.
	The recently agreed Framework Directive for the Eco-design of Energy Using Products (EUP),which is expected to come into force later this year will provide a streamlined and effective route for setting EU-wide environmental requirements for traded goods. EUP requires the Commission and member states to treat the issue of standby energy consumption as a priority area for consideration. The UK will work proactively with the Commission and other member states to influence and speed the delivery of measures under EUP
	In addition, the Government's initiative on sustainable procurement, announced in the autumn of 2003, includes a requirement for government departments which purchase computers and televisions to specify low stand by power requirements.

Lord Bach: The Defra helpline answers telephone requests for information from farmers and other industry sectors as well as queries from the general public. In addition the helpline operators are occasionally requested to attend major agricultural shows representing Defra.
	The total operational costs for the Defra helpline for the period April 2004 to April 2005 was £247,862.23.
	The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) Single Payment Scheme (SPS) helpline was set up in July 2004 to respond to inquiries from farmers following, the mailing of information statements. The cost of staffing this initial helpline was £163,431.
	On 14 February 2005 the RPA's customer service centre (CSC) came into operation and responsibility for handling calls relating to the SPS and customer registration transferred to the CSC with effect from that date.
	The cost of the CSC from 14 February 2005 to 31 May 2005 was £1,489,505. This reflected the significant volume of inquiries received during that period with over 200,000 calls and emails.

Lord Bach: From information held centrally:
	(a) McKinsey and Company Incorporated are not currently carrying out any work for Defra.
	(b) None.
	(c) There were no projects.
	(d) There were no contracts.
	(e) None.

Lord Triesman: The Government take very seriously the need to respect Iraq's cultural heritage. As United Nations Security Council resolution 1546 (June 2004) stressed, all parties need to respect and protect Iraq's archaeological, historical, cultural, and religious heritage. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with the Iraqi Ministry of Culture. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, (Tessa Jowell), spoke with the former Iraqi Minister of Culture on 26 January and is kept closely informed of key cultural issues in Iraq.
	In early 2005 the Government funded a capacity-building visit to the UK by three Iraqi interns from Babylon. They received training on site management techniques and museology and were based at the British Museum. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will give careful consideration to any further proposals designed to help the cultural reconstruction of Iraq.

Lord Triesman: On 12 June the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that in the case of Ocalan Vs Turkey the general conditions in which the applicant was being detained at Imrali Prison did not constitute inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the ECHR, and consequently there was no violation of Article 3. The Council of Europe's Commission for Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited Ocalan on Imrali in February 2003 to assess his prison conditions and their report was published along with the Turkish Government's response in February 2004. We have discussed the CPT report and Turkey's response with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Embassy staff discuss Mr Ocalan's situation with his lawyers as developments arise. We do not intend to ask the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture to re-examine his prison conditions and report at this time.